Today I went to my Grandmothers to help her sell her Ford Ka. It's a 1998 R reg with a whopping 4428 miles under its belt.
I'm sure it's quite common with elderly drivers (I say elderly, but she's only 76) to have low mileages, probably common with 'weekend' sports cars too.
What cars have you come across that have very low mileages considering their age? Probably quite a few Alfas I would imagine.
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Ex father in law bought a new Fiesta Popular in 1982 and gave it away to a relative in 2000 with 30,000 on the clock.
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I know of two similar cars, both owned by elderly single ladies.
One is a 1984 Mini with 16,000 genuine miles on the clock. The other is a 1994 Fiesta which is showing just over 7,000 and is in showroom condition.
Considering these cars are always fully taxed, MOT'd and insured, I'm sure that these people would be better off hiring a car and chaufer for their occasional trips!
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>>I'm sure that these people would be better off hiring a carand chaufer for their occasional trips!
Otherwise known as a taxi!
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There's a story in the Times to-day about a 100-year-old man who has only just been stopped from driving by his doctor - he has a 1981 Metro with 24,000 on the clock.
I wonder how many centenarian drivers there are still driving - anyone know one such?
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There is currently a 1991 Fiat 126 on ebay that only has 3300 miles on the clock.
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My nearly 80 year old father has had a 52 plate Focus from new, which now has 57,000 on the clock.
Oh, you said low.
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My slightly eccentric brother bought new black Honda Civic coupe "S" reg in '98, now done less than 10k and serviced annually by Honda - car still literally as new. Thought he'd get rid bec he does so few miles, annoyed to hear it is now worth less than £3k... still sits in his garage while he and partner travel mostly by train - cos they love public transport. A waste of a car (and money)? Who's to say?.
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Is that because it's spent most of the last 14 years in the garage? :)
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You say they are still like new, but if they've done low mileages, then the engines probably won't be in such a great condition, especially if they only get serviced once a year. The Fiat 126 with 3,300 miles will have probably been laboured all it's life by the old lady :(
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quite agree - I certainly wouldn't buy a vehicle with such a history .. just an example of how uneconomic (bad investment?) it is to buy a car (particularly a new one) that won't get much use.
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I think I'd rather have a 200k mile 3 series than half of these cars! I dread to think what mechanical condition they're in.
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Adam
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Set off to walk down into town and the elderly lady neighbour insisted that she give me a lift down in her Metro.
Its nearly two miles and she kept to the 30 mph speed limit OK.
But she never changed out of first gear.
The thought crossed my mind that she had been reading HJs advice on Italian tune ups too literally.
So the (one lady owner) advert is not all it appears to be.
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Absolutely right, but try convicing Joe Public. My sister got excited about a car on sale from someone she knew, "so it must be in good condition". As I recall, it was five years old with 5000 miles on the clock. She was finally convinced when I showed her an e-mail kindly sent by HJ and saying something to the effect of "wouldn't touch it with a bargepole".
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I know the damage that low mileage can do, but in all honesty, I've driven a 3 year old car with 2,000 miles on the clock that have been driven by an elderly driver and I can't say I had any complaints, in fact, it was the best driving Fiesta of that vintage that I've ever driven. It felt brand new.
There are similar but less extreme examples that I could quote.
So, whilst I wouldn't let low mileage sway me into buying a car, I certainly wouldn't let it put me off either.
Blue
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In 1966 I bought a 1929 Riley Monaco: it was 37years ols and had covered 36,000 miles. (the engine was willing but the bores were badly worn. Tha fabric body was OK). I sold it for double (£65) the price I paid fro it (£30). I was a student..
madf
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My first car was a 15 year old Mini 850 with 40k on the clock.
One lady owner only. Unfortunately this car was kept near the sea in West Cornwall, so the bodywork was not great.
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Buyers ought to find out what sort of low mileage has been covered: there's the elderly owner who only ever goes one mile to the shops (avoid these cars like the plague) or people who only use their car for long trips, say, every other week-end. These cars would be a much better bet.
David HM's father's Focus will be a good buy for someone when he comes to change it: highish mileage by an experienced and probaby considerate driver, but cheap because the punters favour low mileages regardless.
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You get this kinda thing cropping up all the time in magazines like Practical Classics. For example:
- 1983 Ford Escort 1.6GL, 29000 Miles (£1950)
- 1965 Rover 90, 27000 Miles (£6995)
- 2000 Mini Cooper 1.3i Sport, 21 Miles! (£9950)
- 1987 Austin Rover Metro, 17000 Miles (£1250)
This is just a few but there are loads like this popping up in every issue. I once read an article about a gent who had bought, but not registered, an Austin Metro in the early 1980s. It sat, without turning a wheel until (IIRC) last year, when it was wheeled out and sold, with just its delivery miles. Again, IIRC, it was supposed to be some kind of investment!?!
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A classic with a low mileage is generally better (as long as its been stored properly) than one with a high mileage since it is likely to have suffered less wear and tear on things like fabrics and small mechanical items that can be costly and time consuming to repair or renovate on a well used vehicle.
Having said the above, there can also be other issues such as water in break fluid causing corrosion to consider and generally speaking a regularly used car will drive better than one that's been laid up as an "investment" since the regularly used vehicle will have had all of the annoying faults ironed out.
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£1250 for a 18 year old AUSTIN metro........the seller must be on drugs asking that much regardless of mileage!
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>>>>£1250 for a 18 year old AUSTIN metro........the seller must be on drugs asking that much regardless of mileage!
A couple of years ago i saw a C-reg Ford Fiesta 1.1L at Beulieu Autojumble asking for £1500, it was in showroom condition with all documents etc... not that i was interested though lol!
--
Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
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Mother's car a X reg Focus automatic with 7500 miles from new.
I drove it to Carlisle a few years ago to give it a good run, and yesterday to fill it up with petrol.
It really goes well, I gave it a bit of an Italian tune up, but no smoke came out of the exhaust.
Mother is knocking on a bit, I won't say how old, but she didn't have to take a driving test.
It's a bit frightening, isn't it?
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Mother's car a X reg Focus automatic with 7500 miles from new. I drove it to Carlisle a few years ago to give it a good run, and yesterday to fill it up with petrol. It really goes well, I gave it a bit of an Italian tune up, but no smoke came out of the exhaust. Mother is knocking on a bit, I won't say how old, but she didn't have to take a driving test. It's a bit frightening, isn't it?
'I gave it a bit of an Italian tune up'
I've seen this saying before on HJ site. Can someone please explain to me what it is? What is does? and is it good for the car?... oh yeah, and how you do it?
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Drive like you stole it.
Seriously, just drive it using quite a few revs - where you'd ordinarily use 4th, use 3rd. On the motorway use 4th etc. Basically cleans all the crap away, it's how cars were meant to be driven and you have great fun doing it.
--
Adam
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>> 'I gave it a bit of an >> Italian tune up' I've seen this saying before on HJ site. Can someone please explain to me what it is?
Try a forum search!!
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A Toyota bought in 1985, by a couple who had a daughter in Japan, was sold in 2004 by the widow when she was 82, with 12000mls on clock...
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My garage is next door to an old folks home, and I look after most of their cars.Among them is an M reg Proton 1.5 with 17000 miles, and a K reg Citroen AX with 16500, just MOT'd the AX,and it had done less than 1000 miles from last year.flew straight through too!
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Spotted in Classic Car Weekly:
1960 Hillman Minx, 8,000 miles from new. Original tyres. No price, so they may be looking for a few thousand pounds,
so, a more down-to-earth example: 1988 Metro CityX, 5door, 1275cc, tax and MOT, 16,000 miles, £350.
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My '69 1750 Berlina has had one owner from new, it's done 53,000 Km's which is about 31/32k miles?
So at 36 years old it's done less than a 1000 a year.
And it's perfect before anybody starts :) looks, sounds adn drives beautifully, in fact it drives like a car that's done only 31/32K miles :)
jaB
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Spotted in Classic Car Weekly: 1960 Hillman Minx, 8,000 miles from new. Original tyres. No price, so they may be looking for a few thousand pounds,
I would not get in that car for all the money in the world. Original tyres? After 45 years? Unless they've been regularly and liberally coated in vaseline or something I can't imagine they'd be in anything other than life-threatening condition.
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My Grandad's 1998S reg Rover 214i has done 6,700 miles.
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Neil T
Mondeo Ghia TDCi 130 Estate, SEAT Toledo 20VT Sport, Various Montegos...
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Way back in 1988 we were the proud owners of our first ever car, passed down from a grandparent who was no longer allowed to drive. It was a 1973 Mk1 Escort 1300L auto with under 20000 miles. Mechanically car was fine, needed a wing replacing due to tin worm and rear shocks a year later. Engine started first time every time and used no oil whatsoever.
Passed car on in 1996 with 38000 miles, still going strong.
StarGazer
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Our Mini is an 85/86C with a genuine 22k.
-- Lee .. A festivus for the rest of us.
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